Cyclist pushed off bike by man in passing car

The Road Safety Authority has said it believes a widely-shared video of a cyclist who was deliberately thrown from his bicycle by the occupants of a passing car is a matter for the gardaí.

The footage, shot from the back seat of the car, shows a man standing out through the passenger window.

Someone in the car is heard saying “All right boys, this is the new challenge here.” The car slows as it overtakes a cyclist on the side of the road who is wearing high-visibility clothing and a helmet.

The man in the car pushes the cyclist, who falls from his bike and rolls into a ditch. The camera stays on the fallen cyclist as the car drives away, and those in the car can be heard laughing.

The RSA said it could not comment on the video as they believe it is a matter for the gardaí.

The video was posted to Facebook last Saturday by Eoin Maughan, along with the caption, “This is the new challenge boys”. It was shared over 8,000 times on the social media site before it was removed yesterday.

A number of social media users and forum contributors claimed Facebook had initially said the video did not violate its policies when they reported the footage to the social network.

Posting on his Facebook page, Mr Maughan said it was not him in the video. He subsequently described those who were critical of the incident and who had reported the video as “sad c**ts”.

“Video got removed some crack while it lasted,” he wrote. “Just for badness I’m going to make a video where I hang out the window with a baseball bat and destroy someone.”

A Facebook spokesperson said Facebook does not comment on individual posts, but noted the footage is no longer on the site. Facebook’s guidelines states it will “remove graphic images when they are shared for sadistic pleasure or to celebrate or glorify violence”.